Nottingham Forest fans react after Chelsea draw in FA Cup third round

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The Reds overcame FA Cup holders Arsenal in the third round last season, and in facing the Blues, they’re once again up against the side holding the trophy.

Things are going very well at the minute for the red half of Nottingham.

Aitor Karanka’s Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in seven Championship games and sit fifth in the table, just five points off second-placed Leeds United.

The Reds are a different beast this time round from the side which limped to a 17th-placed finish last season and many Forest fans are now dreaming of a playoff berth.

One bright spark from last term was the FA Cup third-round encounter against Arsenal, then the incumbent holders of the trophy.

The Reds – managerless at the time – were not given much hope against the Gunners, given their last meeting, a League Cup third-round tie in September 2016, ended in a 4-0 defeat.

Instead, Forest condemned Arsene Wenger to his first FA Cup third-round exit thanks to a resounding 4-2 victory at the City Ground, full-back Eric Lichaj bagging a brace.

Now, the East Midlanders will get the chance to repeat history just 12 months after that superb day with another opportunity to knock out the current FA Cup holders.

The third-round draw saw Chelsea, who beat Manchester United in last year’s final, given a home tie against Forest on the weekend of 5-6 January 2019.

Following the draw, some Reds fans took to Twitter to celebrate the fixture against Maurizio Sarri’s charges, and some even fancy history to repeat itself:

Incidentally, the previous encounter between the Blues and the Reds was also a League Cup third-round tie, back in September 2016, and the outcome was also a four-goal win for the Premier League side (5-1).

And given that Forest have eliminated the holders of the FA Cup on five of the six previous occasions they’ve faced them, including Arsenal last season (Opta), not to mention they’re much improved from last season, Reds fans cannot be blamed for fancying their chances.